Popular baby names in Virginia, 1917

The most popular baby names in Virginia in 1917 were Mary for girls (1,783 babies) and James for boys (1,527). James ranked #3 nationally for boys. Social Security records list 44,779 babies born in Virginia in 1917 with a name given to at least five children of the same sex in the state.

Names that stood out in Virginia in 1917

Names given at least 15 times in Virginia that year and at least twice as common as in the US as a whole.

Girls

Alease: 18 babies, 19.9× the national rate
Gay: 16 babies, 9.3× the national rate
Maxie: 19 babies, 8.5× the national rate
Nannie: 116 babies, 8.4× the national rate
Lelia: 43 babies, 6.8× the national rate
Pattie: 15 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Ocie: 16 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Gracie: 52 babies, 5.1× the national rate
Virgie: 53 babies, 4.5× the national rate
Blanch: 16 babies, 4.1× the national rate

Boys

Waverly: 15 babies, 30.6× the national rate
Linwood: 46 babies, 14.7× the national rate
Garnett: 19 babies, 12.7× the national rate
Junius: 23 babies, 9.4× the national rate
Randolph: 39 babies, 6.9× the national rate
Raleigh: 16 babies, 6.5× the national rate
Lacy: 15 babies, 6.4× the national rate
Garland: 49 babies, 5.8× the national rate
Aubrey: 51 babies, 5.5× the national rate
Shirley: 19 babies, 5.2× the national rate

Top 50 girls' and boys' names in Virginia, 1917

Girls
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1916	US rank
1	Mary	1,783	–	1
2	Virginia	819	–	10
3	Margaret	694	–	4
4	Dorothy	615	↑2	3
5	Elizabeth	565	–	8
6	Helen	559	↓2	2
7	Ruth	489	–	5
8	Frances	421	–	9
9	Louise	397	–	19
10	Mildred	389	–	6
11	Annie	378	–	35
12	Gladys	300	↑5	23
13	Thelma	299	↑2	32
14	Alice	295	↑2	13
15	Ruby	294	↓3	27
16	Evelyn	292	↓3	11
17	Edith	275	↓3	28
18	Lillian	267	↑5	15
19	Ethel	260	–	24
20	Hazel	259	↓2	31
21	Edna	254	↓1	20
22	Lucille	236	–	29
23	Martha	235	↓2	22
24	Sarah	208	↑2	52
25	Catherine	196	↑9	18
26	Elsie	194	↓2	50
27	Anna	191	↑2	7
28	Lucy	191	↑3	88
29	Marie	184	↑3	12
30	Bessie	181	↓3	61
31	Irene	181	↑5	17
32	Nellie	172	↓7	64
33	Katherine	168	–	49
34	Pauline	168	↓6	33
35	Clara	160	↑6	41
36	Myrtle	160	↑8	58
37	Emma	157	↑1	46
38	Florence	156	↑2	14
39	Grace	156	↓9	30
40	Eva	148	new	54
41	Beatrice	145	↓4	39
42	Mabel	145	↓7	68
43	Bertha	144	↓1	51
44	Laura	144	new	65
45	Julia	137	↑5	47
46	Rosa	135	↑1	>100
47	Alma	133	↑2	71
48	Ida	132	new	56
49	Pearl	132	↓4	57
50	Ella	126	↓7	83

Boys
Rank	Name	Babies	vs 1916	US rank
1	James	1,527	–	3
2	William	1,324	–	2
3	John	1,159	–	1
4	Robert	794	–	4
5	George	633	–	6
6	Charles	623	–	7
7	Thomas	428	–	10
8	Joseph	375	–	5
9	Edward	331	–	8
10	Walter	307	–	11
11	Richard	277	↑4	14
12	Willie	261	↑2	31
13	Henry	249	↓2	15
14	Frank	237	↓1	9
15	Clarence	226	↑1	25
16	Harry	221	↓4	19
17	Samuel	187	↑2	42
18	Paul	181	–	13
19	Charlie	176	↑1	67
20	Raymond	161	↓3	16
21	Arthur	156	↑1	17
22	Earl	148	↑6	32
23	Roy	148	↓2	33
24	Fred	147	↑8	29
25	Albert	146	–	18
26	Howard	145	↓3	26
27	Ernest	142	↓3	37
28	Herbert	141	↑7	40
29	David	140	↓3	28
30	Lewis	126	↑3	70
31	Ralph	121	↓4	21
32	Lawrence	118	↑6	36
33	Carl	114	↓4	24
34	Harold	114	–	12
35	Woodrow	108	↓4	73
36	Alfred	103	↑14	43
37	Eugene	102	↑7	39
38	Jack	102	new	22
39	Clyde	98	↑4	64
40	Claude	96	↓10	98
41	Jesse	96	–	79
42	Russell	94	↓6	52
43	Louis	87	↓3	23
44	Herman	84	↓7	58
45	Melvin	84	–	57
46	Vernon	81	new	71
47	Luther	79	new	>100
48	Joe	78	↓2	35
49	Andrew	77	new	48
50	Benjamin	74	new	76

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